Technical Field
The present disclosure relates in general to a mixing paddle. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a mixing paddle that can be used for mixing paints, varnish, lacquer, or shellac or in general any kind of viscous fluid which needs to be mixed before use.
Description of the Related Art
Paint is usually stored in cans for some time until the paint is finally applied. When paint is stored for a longer time, heavier sediments or pigments making up the paint will gather on the ground, so that mixing or stirring of the paint is required before the paint can be applied. Otherwise, the paint cannot be evenly applied, resulting in poor quality paintwork. Also, when blending differently colored paints together, it is necessary to thoroughly mix the resulting paint to obtain a homogenous mixture.
Traditionally, wooden sticks are used for mixing, i.e. stirring, paints. However, these sticks introduce impurities into the paint, resulting in a poor quality of the paint work. A more advanced mixing paddle, i.e. mixing stick, for mixing paints is shown in EP 1 279 523 A1. The problems associated with the use of wooden sticks are solved by a mixing paddle that is fabricated from injection molded plastic. In some embodiments, the mixing paddle can have through holes in its surface, so that the mixing paddle can be moved easier through the paint, which also enhances the mixing. Also, EP 1 279 523 A1 describes that the mixing paddle can comprise some curvature, which influences the fluid flow around the mixing paddle, such that vortices are created, which in turn enhance the mixing process.
As modern paints can be very expensive it is important to make sure that no paint is wasted. Unfortunately, it is difficult to regain excess paint that sticks to curved mixing paddles. This is because the paint sticking to the curvature cannot just be scraped off, for example at the rim of a paint can, like it would be possible with conventional flat mixing paddles.
EP 1 279 523 A1 describes in one embodiment a mixing paddle having a functionality similar to a carpet knife, where the paddle portion can be telescopically moved into the handle portion. As the paddle portion is telescopically moved into the handle portion, excess paint is removed from the paddle portion by a wiper surface that is included in the handle portion. Even though due to this mechanism excess paint can be removed from the paddle after use, such a mechanism is complicated, and thus expensive to manufacture. Especially, such a mechanism is not economically viable for mixing paddles that are intended for single use only.